ON BOARD PRESIDENT'S AIRCRAFT, Dec 9: President General Pervez Musharraf has described his visit to Latin America, the US, the UK and France as highly productive , saying it helped improve Pakistan's political and diplomatic relations with these countries and also opened up new vistas of trade and economic cooperation.

"It's been a very positive visit. During my meetings with the leadership of these countries we enhanced our bilateral ties and I utilized the opportunity to improve perceptions about Pakistan; on top of it we secured firm commitments to bolstering our trade with these important economies," he said while flying back home from Paris.

France was the last stop of President Musharraf's two-week visit. The president said Pakistan deemed it very important to foster close diplomatic, political and economic ties with the Latin American nations.

"The response, both in political and economic dimensions of the relationship, has been great, and now we will build on this through a consistent follow-up strategy." The president disclosed that a special cell would be set up in the Ministry of Commerce to follow up the goodwill elicited by the Latin American nations for cementing trade relations.

He referred to Mexico's readiness to negotiate a free trade agreement and identification of areas of trade with Brazil and Argentina and said these would be pursued with concrete efforts.

Referring to his talks with President George Bush at the White House, the president said Washington had assured him of considering a free trade agreement, saying it would boost Pakistani exports.

The president said British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac had also expressed their support for Pakistan's efforts to have preferential trade with European Union countries.

They also shared Pakistan's emphasis that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute needed to be resolved for durable peace and stability in South Asia, he said. In reply to a question, he said it was a matter of pride for Pakistan that the world leaders had asked him to play a role in addressing major international issues, including the Palestine issue. --APP